Karolina Kurkova

Karolina Kurkova


Karolína Kurková was born in Děčín, Czechoslovakia, to Josef Kurka, a Czech basketball player, and a Slovak mother.

After a friend sent photos of Kurková to an agency in Prague, she immediately landed a runway appearance, as well as a commercial and print ad. She was 15 at the time.[1] She later traveled to Milan to gain more experience. There, Miuccia Prada, the designer behind the brand Prada, signed her to a modeling contract.[3]Daughter of a Czech basketball star, Karolina Kurkova inherited her father’s figure and height. After a best friend encouraged her to send her pictures to an agency in Prague, Karolina found herself walking on catwalks as well as appearing in commercials and print ads.

Kurkova subsequently flew to Milan, where she was signed by well-known Italian fashion designer Miuccia Prada. In September 1999, the hard-working 15-year-old model landed a modeling job with fashion and lifestyle magazine Vogue, in New York.

Moving to the Big Apple, Kurkova, at the tender age of 17, received America’s recognition when she graced the cover of the February 2001 edition of Vogue, becoming one of the youngest models ever to appear on the magazine’s cover. This led to deals with the famed lingerie retail marketer Victoria's Secret, where she was selected as one of their “Angels” and has appeared in a string of the company’s popular TV specials. Additionally, Kurkova also signed a deal with French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and world-famous designer Tommy.

In 2002, Kurkova, who was called the "next supermodel" by Vogue editor Anna Wintour, was honored with the "Model of the Year" title at that year’s VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards. This brought her more modeling jobs with such designers as Ralph Lauren, Oscar de la Renta and Balenciaga.

"What I love the most about modeling is that it opens you a lot of different doors of opportunities and takes you to many different places, which then put you in touch with various people and cultures." Karolina Kurkova

Meanwhile, Kurkova has also appeared on NBC’s talk show "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and in the fashion documentary Seamless, in 2005. She also has tried her hand in acting and just completed her first film, My Sexiest Year, a romantic coming-of-age drama/comedy written and directed by Howard Himelstein. The movie stars Frankie Muniz, Harvey Keitel and Amber Valletta.

Besides modeling, Kurkova is active in humanitarian work, promoting the welfare of children through such organizations as "The Beautiful Life Fund," "Free Arts" and "Global Youth Action Network." She received an award from a non-profit organization called Women Together, in March 2006.

Kurkova has been quoted as saying, "Everyone likes and deserves to have some fun. In the end, when you smile, life smiles back at you!"[4]

[edit] Modeling career

In September 1999, Kurková met with Vogue editors in New York City, then she moved to NYC permanently. At seventeen years old, she landed a spot on the cover of the February 2001 issue of Vogue. Kurková was now recognized at haute couture fashion shows, and lingerie brand Victoria's Secret chose her to be a part of that year's televised fashion show special.[5]Prominent fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent signed Kurková to modeling contracts. Print campaigns for Tommy Hilfiger, Valentino, and others helped expose her even more, while she headlined the second Victoria's Secret show the following year.In the 2002 Victoria's secret fashion show she also modeled the multi-million dollar bra worth almost $10 million, embellished with rubies and emeralds, which was designed by Hearts on Fire. She was named "Model of the Year" at the 2002 VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards. Kurková later signed contracts with designers including Ralph Lauren, Óscar de la Renta, Chanel and Balenciaga.[3]

Most recently, she has appeared on the cover of Korea's W, as well as the Greek Vogue. She also appeared as the new face for DELL. Kurková has been featured in fashion spreads in most major fashion magazines including U.K., U.S., and German, French Vogue (as well as other international versions of), Vanity Fair and Vanity Fair Germany The Face. In Germany she covered the GQ SUMMER STYLE GQ Sommer Stil and the Park Avneue besides that she was part of many articles in fashion magzines like max or GALA. She has worked with well-known fashion photographers including Steven Klein, Mario Sorrenti, and Mario Testino. She was also featured in the 2006 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, Once again showcasing the multi-million dollar bra worth $6.5 million, decked with almost 2000 diamonds weighing 800 carats, and a centerpiece diamond brooch weighing 10 carats.Karolina's walk down the Victoria's secret runway wearing the above mentioned diamond bra along with frost wings happens to be her most notable walk for Victoria's secret. She happens to be the only other Victoria's secret angel besides Heidi Klum to model the multi-million dollar bra twice in 2002 and 2006.[5] Karolina has done several print and ad campaigns for lingerie giant Victoria's secret.

Kurková is among the world's top-earning models.[6][7]

Brigitte Bardot

Brigitte Bardot



Early life

Brigitte Bardot (full name Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot) was born in Paris to Anne-Marie 'Toty' Mucel (1912-1978) and Louis 'Pilou' Bardot (1896-1975). Her father had an engineering degree and worked with her grandfather in the family business. Toty was sixteen years younger and they married in 1933. Brigitte's mother enrolled her and her younger sister Marie-Jeanne ('Mijanou', born May 5, 1938) in dance. Mijanou eventually gave up on dancing lessons to complete her education, whereas Brigitte decided to concentrate on a ballet career. In 1947, Bardot was accepted to The National Superior Conservatory of Paris for Music and Dance and for three years attended the ballet classes of Russian choreographer Boris Knyazev. (One of her classmates was Leslie Caron). By the invitation of her mother's acquaintance, she modeled in a fashion show in 1949. In the same year she modeled for a fashion magazine "Jardin des Modes" managed by another friend of her mother, journalist Hélène Lazareff. She appeared on a March 8, 1950 cover of ELLE. [5] and was noticed by a young film director Roger Vadim. He showed an issue of the magazine to director and screenwriter Marc Allégret, who offered Bardot the opportunity to audition for "Les lauriers sont coupés" thereafter. Although Bardot got the role, the shooting of the film was canceled, but it made her consider becoming an actress. Moreover, her acquaintance with Vadim, who attended the audition, influenced her further life and career.[6][7]

[edit] Career

Although the European film industry was then in its ascendancy, Bardot was one of the few European actresses to receive mass media attention in the United States. She and Marilyn Monroe were perhaps the foremost examples of female sexuality in films of the 1950s and 1960s, and whenever she made public appearances in the United States the media hordes covered her every move.

Brigitte Bardot debuted in a 1952 comedy film Le Trou Normand (English title: Crazy for Love). In the same year she married Roger Vadim. From 1952 to 1956 she appeared in seventeen films; in 1953 playing a part in Jean Anouilh's stageplay "L'Invitation au château" ("The Invitation to a Castle"). She received media attention when she attended the Cannes Film Festival in April 1953. [7] "She is every man's idea of the girl he'd like to meet in Paris," wrote the film-critic Ivon Addams in 1955.

Her films of the early and mid 1950s were generally lightweight romantic dramas, some of them historical, in which she was cast as ingénue or siren, often with an element of undress. She played bit parts in three English-language films, the British comedy Doctor at Sea (1955), Helen of Troy (1954), in which she was understudy for the title role but only appears as Helen's handmaid, and Act of Love (1954) with Kirk Douglas. Her French-language films were dubbed for international release.

Megan Mullally

Megan Mullally


Megan Mullally (born November 12, 1958) is a four-time SAG- and two-time Emmy Award-winning American actress, talk show host and singer, perhaps best known for her role as Karen Walker on Will & Grace.

Early life

Mullally was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Martha (née Palmer), a model, and Carter Mullally, Jr., an actor who was a contract player with Paramount Pictures during the 1950s.[1] She is of Irish descent.[2] Mullally moved to her father's native Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, at the age of seven.[3] She studied ballet from the age of six and performed in a ballet company during high school. She spent her summers in Los Angeles because of her mother's work.[4]

Following her graduation from Casady School, she attended Northwestern University, where she majored in English Literature and Art History. She became active in local theater and eventually left college without graduating. She worked in Chicago theater for six years.

sheryl crow

sheryl crow

Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American country, blues rock singer, guitarist, bassist, pianist and songwriter. Her music blends country, pop, folk, and blues rock into one mainstream sound, and she has won nine Grammy Awards. Crow is also a noted political activist.[citation needed]

She performs with the Rolling Stones, and has sung duets with Mick Jagger.[1] Crow's recordings have appeared on the soundtracks to Cars, Point Break, The X-Files, Big Daddy, Crossroads, Home of the Brave, Kalifornia, Elizabethtown, and Stone Cold.

Early life

Sheryl Suzanne Crow was born in Kennett, Missouri on February 11, 1962, to parents Wendell, a trumpet player and lawyer, and Bernice Crow, a piano teacher.[2] The third child of the family, she has three siblings: older sisters Kathy and Karen, and younger brother Steve.

While studying at Kennett High School in Kennett, Missouri, Sheryl was a majorette. She was an All-State track athlete, medalling in the 75 low hurdles. She also joined the Pep Club, the National Honor Society, Future Farmers of America, Freshman Maid, Senior Maid and Paperdoll Queen. She then enrolled at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, and received a BA degree in Music Composition, Performance and Education. While in college, Sheryl sang in the local band Cashmere. She was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta social sorority and Sigma Alpha Iota, a women's music fraternity.[3] Later, Crow was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.[4]

Carrie Underwood

Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983 in Muskogee, Oklahoma) is an American country pop singer-songwriter who won the fourth season of American Idol. She also is a five time Grammy Award Winning singer. Since then, she has become a multi-platinum selling recording artist. Her debut album, Some Hearts, was certified 7x platinum and is the fastest selling debut country album in Nielsen SoundScan history.[1] Some Hearts has yielded six #1 hits on the country charts in the United States and Canada: "Inside Your Heaven," "Jesus, Take the Wheel"(written by Gordie Sampson, Hillary Lindsey and Brett James "Don't Forget to Remember Me", "Wasted," and her biggest hit to date, "Before He Cheats." Underwood scored another Top 10 Billboard hit with her charity single, "I'll Stand by You." Some Hearts sold a total of 7 million Recording Industry Association of America-certified copies as of February 2008. In addition to being the best selling album by an American Idol contestant in the United States to date, it is also the best-selling solo female debut album in country music history.[2]

Her second album, Carnival Ride (which is certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA) was released on October 23, 2007. It has so far sold over 2 million copies[3] and has produced two #1 country hits, "So Small." and "All-American Girl". Underwood's Christmas single, "Do You Hear What I Hear?" peaked at #2 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts.

Aside from her vocals, Underwood's success is attributed to what many fans recognize as her wholesome image.[4] In general, many of her songs also present inspirational and uplifting themes and messages.[5] To date, Underwood has sold over 11 million copies worldwide in the last two years.

Early life

Carrie Marie Underwood was born to Stephen and Carole Underwood in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and was raised on her parents' farm in rural Checotah, Oklahoma. She has two older sisters, Shanna (born 1970) and Stephanie Underwood Shelton (born 1973). Underwood had performed at Robbins Memorial Talent Show in her childhood. As a young child, she sang in church, and for Old Settler's Day and Lion's Club, local events in Checotah. In 1996, when Underwood was 13, her manager at the time tried to get her a recording contract at Capitol Records. However, due to management changes at Capitol, it never materialized.[citation needed]

Underwood graduated from Checotah High School in 2001 as salutatorian.[citation needed] After high school, she attended Northeastern State University in Tahlequah. She graduated magna cum laude in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in mass communication and an emphasis in journalism.[6] Underwood is a member of the Alpha Iota chapter of Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority.[7] For two years during the summer, she performed in Northeastern's Downtown Country show in Tahlequah. She also competed in numerous beauty pageants at the university and was selected as Miss NSU runner-up in 2004.[8]

taylor swift

Taylor Swift


(born December 13, 1989) is an American country music singer-songwriter. Signed to the independent Big Machine Records label in 2006, Taylor made her debut on the U.S. Billboard country charts with the release of her debut single "Tim McGraw".

Her self-titled debut album was released in late 2006, and has since been certified double platinum by the RIAA in the United States. To date, it has produced four Top Ten singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs, including the Number One single "Our Song"; all three of her singles have also reached Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was re-issued in late 2007 with a set of bonus tracks.

Taylor Swift was born in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania and lives with her parents (Scott and Andrea) and her brother (Austin)[1] in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Swift's influences include her grandmother, who was an opera singer,[2] and LeAnn Rimes.[3] Although her grandmother was a professional opera singer, her tastes always ran more toward country and she developed a love for Patsy Cline and Dolly Parton at an early age.[4] At the age of ten, Swift began to perform around her home town, Wyomissing, singing at karaoke contests, festivals, and fairs, and also started writing songs. Her first exposure to the music business consisted of recording demo tapes at a studio. At age 11, Swift made her first trip to Nashville in hopes of obtaining a record deal by handing out a demo tape she had made of her singing along to karaoke songs. She handed this tape to receptionists at every label on Music Row.[3] Swift returned to Pennsylvania; her break came at the U.S. Open tennis tournament, when her rendition of the national anthem moved the crowd. Swift signed to a record label when she was 13 years old, but walked away because it "wasn't where she wanted to be."[citation needed]

Swift began to regularly visit Nashville, where, at age 14, she wrote songs with local songwriters. Her family decided to move to an outlying Nashville suburb.[5] She performed at Nashville's premier songwriters' café, The Bluebird Café, catching the attention of Scott Borchetta. Borchetta signed her to his newly-formed record label, Big Machine Records.

Swift plays a Taylor Grand Auditorium acoustic guitar made of koa wood.

Princess Diana

Princess Diana

Diana, Princess of Wales, (Diana Frances;[2] née Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales. Their sons, Princes William and Henry (Harry), are second and third in line to the thrones of the United Kingdom and fifteen other Commonwealth Realms.

A public figure from the announcement of her engagement to Prince Charles, Diana remained the focus of near-constant media scrutiny in the United Kingdom and around the world up to and during her marriage, and after her subsequent divorce. Her sudden death in a car accident was followed by a spontaneous and prolonged show of public mourning. Contemporary responses to Diana's life and legacy have been mixed but a popular fascination with the Princess endures. The long awaited Coroner's Inquest reported in April 2008 that Diana had been unlawfully killed by the driver and the following paparazzi, despite persistent consipracy theories which alledge involvement of Government security services and Prince Philip.[3]

Diana Frances was the youngest daughter of Edward John Spencer, Viscount Althorp, later John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer, and his first wife, Frances Spencer, Viscountess Althorp (formerly the Honourable Frances Burke Roche). She was born at Park House, Sandringham in Norfolk, England and baptised there at St. Mary Magdalene Church by the Rt. Rev. Percy Herbert (rector of the church and former Bishop of Norwich and Blackburn); her godparents included John Floyd (the chairman of Christie's). She was the third child to the couple, her four siblings being The Lady Sarah Spencer (born 19 March 1955), The Lady Jane Spencer (born 11 February 1957), The Honourable John Spencer (born and died 12 January 1960), and Charles Spencer (born 20 May 1964). Her parents' reasonably acrimonious divorce in 1969 (over Lady Althorp's affair with wallpaper heir Peter Shand Kydd), Diana's mother took her and her younger brother to live in an apartment in London's Knightsbridge, where Diana attended a local day school. That Christmas the Spencer children went to celebrate with their father and he subsequently refused to allow them to return to London and their mother. Lady Althorp sued for custody of her children, but Lady Althorp's mother's testimony against her daughter during the trial contributed to the court's decision to award custody of Diana and her brother to their father. On the death of her paternal grandfather, Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer in 1975, Diana's father became the 8th Earl Spencer, at which time she became Lady Diana Spencer and moved from her childhood home at Park House to her family's 16th-century ancestral home of Althorp.[citation needed]

In 1976 Lord Spencer married Raine, Countess of Dartmouth, the only daughter of romantic novelist Barbara Cartland, after he was named as the "other party" in the Dartmouths' divorce. During this time Diana travelled up and down the country, living between her parents' homes—with her father at the Spencer seat in Northamptonshire, and with her mother, who had moved to the Island of Seil off the west coast of Scotland. Diana, like her siblings, did not get along with her new stepmother.

Leona Lewis Pics

Leona Lewis


Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is an English singer and winner of the third series of The X Factor. She is the third UK female artist to reach #1 in the US with a debut single, following Petula Clark in 1965 and Sheena Easton in 1981.[1][2]

Her U.K debut single, "A Moment like This", was released in December 2006, breaking a world record after it was downloaded 50,000 times within 30 minutes.[3] Her second single, "Bleeding Love," was the biggest-selling single of 2007 in the United Kingdom and in March 2008 the single, her first release in the US, became the first by a British female vocalist to top the Billboard Hot 100 since Kim Wilde in 1987.[4] She is also only the sixth UK solo female artist to ever top the US Hot 100, following Petula Clark, Lulu, Sheena Easton, Bonnie Tyler, and Kim Wilde. Her debut album, Spirit, was released in November 2007, and became the fastest-selling debut album ever in both the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.[5][6] It is claimed Lewis is the first winner of a major television talent show in either the UK or US to be given a major global launch with the release of their debut album.

Early life

Leona Lewis was born in the London district of Islington to parents Aural Josiah, a Guyanese Afro-Caribbean youth worker, and Maria Lewis, a social worker of Anglo-Welsh descent.[8][9] At the age of five, she attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School,[9] and later the Italia Conti Academy[10] and the BRIT School.[11]

Lewis wrote her first song at the age of twelve,[12] and won a number of talent competitions.[13][14] After leaving school, Lewis took a number of jobs to pay to get into a recording studio, including waitressing and several receptionist jobs.[9][10][15]

She recorded a number of songs including a demo album of her own songs called Twilight, but the album was never released.[16] When she was fifteen years old, she recorded a version of Minnie Riperton's "Lovin' You" with music producer Marley J. Wills, after which Lewis and Wills were invited to the U.S. by Sony.[17] Wills commented that "Leona could hit the notes and I think she did it better than the original."[18]

When her music career seemed to be going nowhere, she decided to finally give up, until her boyfriend persuaded her to enter The X Factor.[13]

[edit] The X Factor

See also: The X Factor (UK series 3)

In 2006, Lewis auditioned for the third series of The X Factor, singing "Over the Rainbow". She made it through to the final stages and was announced the winner on 16 December 2006, winning a £1 million recording contract.[19] She was mentored by Simon Cowell.

Lewis' voice was consistently highly praised by all three judges — Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne. On occasions, she was compared with divas such as Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, and Celine Dion.[9] However, Lewis was also criticised, by both the judges and in the press, in relation to her confidence. Vocal coach Mark Hudson also criticised her lack of star quality.[20] On the final night of the show, Take That joined Lewis on stage for a duet of their song "A Million Love Songs". After the performance, singer Gary Barlow told Cowell, "This girl is probably fifty times better than any other contestant you have ever had, so you have a big responsibility to make the right record with her."[21]

On the Oprah Winfrey Show on 17 March 2008, Simon Cowell said that it was during Lewis' barefoot performance of "Summertime" in the third live round of the X Factor (broadcast 28 October 2006) that he "could see her transform from a great singer into a superstar".